


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by henryhart



Category: Henry Danger (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fun, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-24 19:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16646474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henryhart/pseuds/henryhart
Summary: Henry, Charlotte, Piper and Jasper are all waiting around in a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere for their connecting flight home after spending Thanksgiving with Henry’s aunt and uncle. Unfortunately for them, there is a blizzard outside and soon enough, all flights get grounded. Now they’re stranded in an airport together with nothing to do. Chaos eventually ensues.





	1. Snowed In

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, two things. 1) I know Thanksgiving isn’t until next week, but I was having fun with this little mini-series so I decided to post the first part early. 2) I know the title pretty much has nothing to do with the plot alsdlsdk. I was originally gonna make it where the kids got stranded on Christmas Eve, but I already have a Christmas one-shot that’s written and ready to be posted so I decided to just change the holiday to Thanksgiving. I’ll Be Home for Christmas is one of my favorite holiday movies so I decided to just keep the title to kinda pay a little homage to it. Also, when I started this fic I literally had no intention at all of including Hensper. I wasn’t really gonna include any romantic type relationship stuff I was literally just gonna keep it friendly/familial, but then as I was writing I just found myself writing Hensper stuff and that’s just where it went. What can I say? Anyway, this first half is kinda boring because I wanted to get the first few parts out of the way and get the story set up but it was getting waaaayyy too long so I had to break it up. I apologize in advance. Hopefully the next part(s) is much better. Let me know what you guys think, good or bad! Also, I haven’t really proofread this much so if there is a bunch of mistakes I’m sorry aldflskdf

**November 23rd, 4:13 p.m.  
**

The day after Thanksgiving.

Henry, Piper, Jasper, and Charlotte were currently lounging in a tiny airport in the middle of Nowhere, U.S.A. Henry’s parents had decided to send Henry and Piper to their aunt and uncle’s for Thanksgiving, claiming that they didn’t see them enough (but Henry and Piper both suspected they were just getting sick of having them in the house and they wanted time to themselves.) Charlotte’s house was getting overcrowded due to the holidays, so her parents reluctantly let her tag along, and Jasper’s parents didn’t really care where he went, so he came along too. Now, the holiday was over, and they were currently waiting for their connecting flight so they could finally get home.

Henry wasn’t exactly sure where they were, but he was surprised that any major airline would ever stop in such a tiny airport. You could literally stand on one end of the terminal and see the other end no problem. The walls and ceilings were made entirely of glass, so you could see outside no matter which way you looked. There was only one tiny pub style restaurant and a newsstand with a fridge next to it containing various sodas and snacks. A giant Christmas tree that stretched from floor to ceiling was set up in the middle, and it was completely covered in garland, lights, and decorations. Christmas music was also being blasted throughout the terminal.

Piper was standing by the window near their gate, moving her phone around wildly, desperate to get any type of signal. Charlotte had her nose stuck in a book, and Jasper was absentmindedly watching a television screen in the tiny pub that was across from where they were sitting. Henry was stretched out so his head was on Charlotte’s lap and his legs were sprawled across Jasper.

Piper stormed over to Henry and huffed.

“Henry!” she shouted.

“What?” Henry replied without looking up at her, clearly unenthused.

“We have to get out of here. I have no cell signal! Things are trending and I don’t know what they are! Do something!” she seethed. Henry looked up at her now, his expression unchanged.

“What do you want me to do about it, Piper? You expect me to stop the snow?”

“I don’t care what you do, just do  _something_! Fix. This.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” he deadpanned without moving. Piper fumed as she watched him for a moment before letting out a sharp breath and storming off again.

“When  _are_  we getting out of here?” Henry asked no one in particular. As if on cue, a voice came over the loudspeaker:

“ _Bad news folks. Flight 626 to Swellview is being delayed again due to inclement weather. We apologize for any inconvenience._ ” All of the kids let out a simultaneous groan.

“So,  _now_  when’s it supposed to take off?” Henry asked, an irritated edge to his voice.

“I’ll go check the monitors,” Jasper said as he pushed Henry’s legs off of him and stood up. Henry groaned when his feet hit the floor and he reluctantly sat up, clearly annoyed over the fact that he had been forcefully moved from his position, but Jasper just ignored him. He made his way over to the wall of monitors and searched for their flight.

“Oh,  _man_ ,” he moaned when he finally found it.

“It’s not leaving now until 8:42,” he called over to Charlotte and Henry. Charlotte threw her head back and groaned while Henry just threw himself back into her lap.

“We’re never gonna get out of here,” he mumbled to himself. They had arrived at the airport at 10:38 a.m. and their connecting flight was originally supposed to take off at noon. Now, here it was, four hours later and still no flight, and what’s even worse is now they knew they had to wait at least  _another_  four hours. At this point, Henry was irrationally angry at his parents for sending him away and inadvertently getting him stuck like this. As Jasper took a seat back down beside him, Henry sat up and started looking around the airport to try to find something to entertain him for a little while. On the other side of the gate, he spotted a pretty brunette girl that was dressed from head-to-toe in designer clothes. She was standing by the charging station charging her phone, trying futilely to get some type of cell signal. A sly smile spread across Henry’s face as he stood up. Charlotte peered over her book to see where he was going.

“I’ll be back,” he announced as he started to make his way over to her. At this point, Piper was rejoining the group, having given up trying to get a cell signal, and she knelt down on a seat in between Jasper and Charlotte in the row behind them so her arms rested on the back of Henry’s chair. The three of them watched Henry closely. A hint of jealousy flashed in Jasper’s eyes but didn’t dare show it.

“Does he not realize she’s way out of his league?” Piper questioned. Charlotte suppressed the urge to laugh a little. Piper’s comment was a little mean, but even Charlotte had to admit that a rich, beautiful girl like that  _was_  a little out of Henry’s league. Just a little. “Ten bucks says this blows up in his face,” Piper continued.

“One can only dream,” Jasper mumbled. Charlotte and Piper whipped their heads around to face him.

“What?” Charlotte asked. Jasper’s eyes went wide as he realized he had said that out loud.

“Huh?” he replied. Piper and Charlotte continued to watch him for a minute, still clearly confused, but they decided to drop the matter and focus their attention on Henry again. Henry was obviously trying his best to get the girl’s attention, but she wasn’t looking up from her phone.

“See, I told you guys. There’s no way he’s gonna pull this off,” Piper stated. Charlotte wasn’t so sure yet. She had seen Henry come back from worse. Finally, something Henry said got the girl to look up, and once she saw who she was talking too, her expression immediately changed from annoyance to friendliness.

“Oh, see! Nice work, Henry,” Charlotte said as she smiled. Piper and Jasper both frowned.

The trio continued to watch the pair, now entirely enthralled with Henry’s progress. (Hey, they had nothing better to do.) Henry said something else to the mystery girl, and she immediately smiled as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“Oh! She just did the hair tuck thing! She’s definitely into him,” Charlotte said. Piper scoffed while Jasper crossed his arms over in front of his chest.

“He’s gonna screw this up, just you watch,” Piper stated matter-of-factly. Charlotte just shot her a look that said “oh, please!” before turning her attention back to Henry and the brunette. The mystery girl started laughing at something Henry said while she reached out and touched his hand. Henry was smiling as well, clearly pleased with himself.

“Okay, she laughed at something he said  _and_  she touched his hand, it’s all over now. He’s got her,” Charlotte declared. Jasper sunk into his seat a little as he started to pout. Charlotte noticed the change in his attitude out of the corner of her eye, but she pretended like she didn’t.

“Alright, I’m bored now,” Piper announced as she stood up. “HENRY!” she screeched. Jasper and Charlotte jumped as she had shrieked a mere inches from their ears. A few people turned around to face her, clearly bothered by her sudden outburst, but Piper ignored their scathing looks. Henry squeezed his eyes shut for a second as his smile immediately faded. He let out a sharp breath before opening his eyes again. He gave the mystery girl the sweetest smile he could.

“One second,” he said before turning his attention to Piper. “What?” he hissed through gritted teeth. She made her way over to stand next to the rich brunette.

“I’m hungry, buy me food,” she said. Henry exhaled sharply.

“You have money, use yours,” he shot back.

“I have my money, I asked for yours. Mom and dad aren’t here, and as the big brother, you’re supposed to take care of me. So, buy me food,” she said again. Henry sighed.

“Piper-” he started.

“Do it, or I’ll start screaming at the top of my lungs,” Piper threatened.

“Piper-”

One.”

“Piper, you’re too old for this.”

“Two.”

“Piper, I’m serious. Don’t you dare.”

“Don’t let me get to three.”

“Piper-”

Piper pulled in a sharp breath, but Henry held his hands up to stop her.

“Okay! Fine! Fine. Go get a seat in the pub, I’ll be there in a second,” Henry said in defeat. Piper smiled as she turned to start towards the restaurant, obviously pleased with herself. Henry met the girl’s eyes again. Her eyes flickered with sympathy.

“I gotta go,” he said solemnly. The girl’s lips curved into a small smile.

“Okay. It was nice meeting you!” she said sweetly. Henry forced a smile.

“You too.” he grumbled. He made his way over to Jasper and Charlotte, who turned away quickly, not wanting Henry to know they had been watching him the entire time.

“I’m gonna buy Piper something to eat, do you guys wanna join us?” he asked once he reached them. Jasper and Charlotte exchanged glances.

“Yeah, why not?” Charlotte answered.

“I could eat,” Jasper replied.

“Alright, let’s go,” Henry said as he gestured for them to follow him. They made their way over to the pub and they took a seat at the table Piper had grabbed for them. Charlotte started to sit down next to Henry, but she thought back to Jasper’s mood change when Henry was flirting, and she decided to move so Jasper could sit next to him instead.

Even if that meant putting her life in danger by sitting next to Piper.

It wasn’t lost on her how Jasper subtly moved his chair so he could sit as close as humanly possible to Henry. Henry, on the other hand, was oblivious to the fact that Jasper was now practically sitting in his lap.

The restaurant was almost completely empty, save for the staff and two other people dining. Piper was already busy studying the menu.

“So, how do we wanna pay for this? Split it evenly? Separate checks?” Charlotte asked as she started examining the menu. Henry began calculating in his head how much money he had on him before a thought occurred to him. A wicked smile spread across his lips.

“Lunch is on me,” he said. “Or should I say, my parents,” he continued as he pulled out his parents’ credit card from his wallet and held it up to show the group. His parents had given it to him in case of an emergency, but he felt like sending him away and getting him trapped in an airport with his little sister was emergency enough. The other kids exchanged looks and shrugged. They knew Henry probably shouldn’t use his parents’ card like that, but they weren’t about to turn down free food. 

An older woman with short gray hair approached their table. She was wearing a waitress uniform that resembled a referee and she looked positively bored. Her name tag read the name “Ruth.” She pulled out a pencil from behind her ear and held up a tiny server book.

“What can I get you?” she asked impassively. Piper, Jasper, and Charlotte each placed their orders, which consisted of a turkey sandwich, a cheeseburger, and a veggie burger. Henry pursed his lips as he perused the menu.

“Yeah, I’ll take a double cheeseburger with cheddar cheese,” he started. The waitress began writing down his order as she nodded. “Oh, and also, I’ll take one order of every single appetizer you have.” Ruth stopped writing for a moment as she looked up at him, but Henry didn’t notice. She just raised her eyebrows for a second before she went back to writing down his order. “I’ll also take an order of the spaghetti with meatballs, and the baby back ribs.” The other kids were now looking at him, their eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Oh! How is the Mahi sandwich?” The waitress opened her mouth to answer but Henry cut her off. “Never mind, I’ll take an order of it anyway.” Ruth stopped writing as she shifted her weight to one foot and pressed her lips together.

Henry continued to order at least half the menu, and at one point the waitress stopped to ask him if this was a prank, which Henry assured her it certainly was not. She reluctantly continued to write down his order and Henry could tell from the look on her face she was trying to figure out where he was gonna put all that food and exactly how he was gonna pay for it. He finally finished after ordering at least 90% of the menu. Ruth just gave him an irritated look as she went to put in their orders to the kitchen. Piper, Jasper, and Charlotte were all staring at Henry, their eyebrows brought together, confusion etched on their faces.

“Henry...what the hell?” Jasper inquired. Henry just shrugged.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to eat all that food before you get on a plane?” Charlotte questioned.

“I’m not actually gonna eat all of it. I just wanted to stick it to my parents for getting us trapped here,” Henry stated simply. The three of them continued to watch him for a minute, but they finally decided to just shrug it off.

When the food arrived, it took at least five waiters to bring it all, and they had to slide over another table to fit everything. The kids ogled at all the food sprawled out in front of them. It was like sitting in front of a fully stocked all-you-can-eat-buffet. Henry looked up to address the other three as he rubbed his hands together.

“Alright! Dig in! Take anything you like,” he said as he reached for the plate of mozzarella sticks. Charlotte, Piper, and Jasper exchanged looks before they all shrugged and started digging into the mountain of food before them.

\--------

Forty minutes later, at least half of the food was gone, and the kids were all slumped in their chairs, griping about how they had eaten too much. Ruth came over and looked at the kids, still doing nothing to conceal her obvious annoyance with the lot of them.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked, an edge to her voice.

“Just the check,” Henry said his voice raspy due to his stomachache. Ruth just rolled her eyes as she went back to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a receipt which she handed to Henry. Henry sucked his breath in through his teeth when he caught sight of the total.

“What’s the damage?” Charlotte asked. Jasper leaned over and placed his chin on Henry’s shoulder to see the total and he grimaced.

“$85.92,” Henry answered. Piper let out an obnoxious laugh.

“Oh, you’re so dead,” she teased. Henry glared at her.

“Shut up.”

Charlotte observed how Jasper hadn’t moved off of Henry’s shoulder yet and how Henry didn’t seem concerned with getting him to move. In fact, it was like he didn’t really even notice. It was almost as if it was just natural for the two of them.

After Henry paid the bill, the kids decided to just chill at the pub for a while since there was really no one in there except an occasional customer or two. When Ruth came back around to start clearing off the table, Henry handed her a $40 tip to make up for the fact that he had made her a pawn in his revenge plot against his parents, and her disposition immediately changed. She smiled at them for the first time since she had waited on them, and afterwards she would always come over every once in a while to check and make sure they didn’t want anything else. The kids just hung out for a little while, laughing and joking, and to Henry’s surprise, even Piper was being a delight. After a couple of hours, Henry pulled out his phone to check the time. The clock read 7:36 p.m. Henry put his phone back in his pocket as he turned to face the group.

“We still have an hour to go, but do you guys wanna head back to the gate?” he asked. A chorus of “sure”s rang out as the kids stood up. They all waved goodbye to Ruth as they shuffled out. As they made their way back to their seats at the gate, a voice rang out over the loudspeakers once again.

“ _Well, we have more bad news folks. Due to the impending blizzard outside, all flights are being grounded until further notice. Complimentary hotel accommodations can be made at the information desk. We apologize for the inconvenience._ ”

The kids all stopped in their tracks as they let out a collective groan.

“Great,” Henry said irritably as he pulled out his phone. “I guess I better call mom and dad and tell them.” He looked down at his phone only to remember that he hadn’t been able to get cell service the entire time they had been there. “Does anyone have any semblance of a signal?”

Piper, Jasper, and Charlotte all pulled out their phones to check, but Henry could tell from the looks on their faces that the answer was no.

“Excuse me?” Henry asked an airport worker that was walking by. “Is there a phone around here I can use?” The airport worker pointed down the terminal towards the middle where the giant Christmas tree was.

“There’s a payphone on the right hand side down by the information desk,” she answered. The kids just looked at her, perplexed.

“A what?” Jasper asked. The airport worker took a deep breath as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“A payphone. You put the quarter in and then dial the number...it’s a super simple concept, I’m sure even you guys can figure it out,” she said as she walked away again. Henry blinked a few times, taken aback by her backhanded comment.

“Alright. Let’s go find this payphone,” he said as he led the group down the long walkway. Just as the airport worker had stated, there was a booth with a phone right next to the information desk. Henry put the quarter in and dialed his parents number. It rang and rang, but no answer. Henry slammed the phone back down on the receiver as he exhaled sharply. He was starting to feel guilty about the large charge he had just left on their credit card, but now that they got him stranded in an airport and they weren’t even answering the phone, he didn’t feel so bad anymore.    
“Anybody got any other ideas of who we can call?” he asked. The other three thought it over for a moment.

“What about Ray?” Jasper asked. Henry bit his lower lip in thought.

“It’s worth a shot, I guess,” he said as he put another quarter in and dialed Ray’s number. The phone rang a few times before Ray answered.

“ _Hello?_ ” he heard Ray’s voice say on the other end.

“Ray! It’s Henry.”

“ _Hey, Henry! What’s up?_ ”

“Ray, I have a huge favor to ask you.”

There was long pause on the other end, and Henry almost thought the call had dropped.

“ _What is it?_ ” Ray asked.

“Jasper, Charlotte, my little sister Piper, and I are stuck in a tiny airport in-” Henry put his hand over the bottom of the receiver as he turned to the other three. “Where are we?” he whispered. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“Indiana,” she answered. Henry nodded in response.

“We’re stuck in a tiny airport in Indiana, it’s snowed in and we don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here. Is there anyway you would even consider coming to pick us up?”

There was another long pause before Henry heard laughing on the other end. Henry’s shoulders slumped as he rolled his eyes.

“ _Henry, that’s like a 15 hour drive...through a blizzard. I don’t think so_ ,” Ray answered as he started to hang up. Henry quickly straightened back up.

“Ray, wait! Stop! Please. I’ve never asked you for anything in my life, please just do this one thing for me,” he pleaded.

“ _First of all, you have. Secondly, I don’t even have a vehicle that could make that kinda trek!_ ”

“Bring your truck! Bring the ManCopter! I don’t care, just please come get us.”

“ _Uhhh….shoot...Henry….I hear the Captain Man hotline going off so I gotta go_.”

Henry listened closely but all he could hear in the background was Dog Judge.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“ _Yeah, well….it’s definitely going off._ ”

“Ray, I can hear the TV in the background, I know you’re lying.”

“ _Oh, uhhhh…..crrk...shoot, Henry, crrrk, you’re breaking up… I can’t….crrk._ ” Henry pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed sharply.

“I know you’re making that ‘crrk’ sound, Ray,” Henry responded, sounding exasperated.

“ _Huh?? Crrk… I can’t-_ ”

Henry heard the receiver click before the dial tone started. Henry put the phone back down in defeat.

“Anybody got any other ideas?” Jasper and Charlotte just shook their heads.“Okay, well, I guess we should just go try to get our hotel reservations and-” Henry stopped as he started to look around. “Wait, where’s Piper?”


	2. Under the Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, Happy Thanksgiving, friends! And if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, then happy Thursday! Even though I absolutely despise this holiday, I still wanted to give you guys a little something just as my gift to you. Hopefully, you enjoy it. There’s a little scene in here for my Hensper loving friends that I think you guys will really enjoy. I don’t have much to say for this chapter other than, with that newscast, my mind is so mushy today and I just,,,completely blanked on a what a legit newscast sounds like so if it sounds off I’m truly sorry alsdkflsdkf. Anyway, I kinda rushed this chapter because I wanted to post it before the day was over so I’m sorry if it completely sucks. I tried lol. Let me know what you think, good or bad!

“Wait, where’s Piper?” Henry asked anxiously. Charlotte and Jasper looked to the side where she had been standing. They hadn’t even noticed she had disappeared. The trio started to frantically look around them.

“Do you guys see her anywhere?” Henry asked, sounding alarmed.

“I don’t see her at all,” Jasper answered.

“Me either,” Charlotte responded. Henry squeezed his eyes shut as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Cool. Not only am I snowed in at an airport in the middle of nowhere, but I also lost my little sister in said airport. Could this night get any worse?”

“Don’t ask,” Jasper deadpanned. Henry took another deep breath.

“Okay, you guys go that way,” he said as he pointed straight ahead, “and I’ll go this way,” he said as he pointed behind him, “and we’ll meet back here in ten minutes. Hopefully with my bratty little sister in tow,” he grumbled. Charlotte and Jasper nodded as they started in the direction Henry had pointed to, while Henry started in the opposite direction. They searched all over the airport for Piper, but to no avail. It was like she had disappeared into thin air. They met back up at their meeting place and Henry was now clearly panicked.

“Guys, what are we gonna do?” he squeaked. Jasper and Charlotte just shrugged, concern and helplessness etched on their faces. Henry leaned against the wall as he slumped to the floor. “I have to find my sister!”

A blonde girl in her mid-twenties that Henry had recognized since she had been sitting at their gate, obviously on the same flight as them, came up beside Henry.

“I’m sorry to eavesdrop, but are you looking for that young blonde girl you were with earlier?” she asked. Henry shot up.

“Yeah, do you know where she is?” he said hopefully. The girl nodded in response.

“I do! She’s in the VIP lounge. I just saw her go in there a few minutes ago.” Henry’s forehead creased as he frowned.

“The VIP lounge? That’s impossible she doesn’t have any way of getting in there,” he responded. The girl just shrugged.  
“I don’t know. I’m just telling you what I saw. Either way, I hope you find her,” the girl said before she walked away. Henry’s expression changed from panic and concern to aggravation.

“God, what has she done now?” he uttered to himself as he, Charlotte and Jasper made their way over to the VIP Lounge. A young black haired girl was sitting at the front desk, and she smiled up at them as they approached.

“Hi! Do you have a VIP card or a first class ticket?” she asked sweetly.

“Well, no. But, listen, I just need to get in there for a second, my sister-” Henry started, but the girl cut him off.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you in without either of those things,” she stated.

“I understand that but listen. I’m not looking to hang out in your VIP lounge, I just need to get in there to get my little sister-”

“I’m sorry. I can’t let you in, sir,” she said a little more forcefully. Henry sighed as he ignored her and started towards the door.

“I just need to get in there for a second-” he said as he reached for the door handle. The girl stepped out from behind the front desk.

“Sir, you can’t go in there!” she said adamantly. Henry continued to ignore her.   
“I just need to get my little sister,” he shot back. Just then, a security officer approached them.

“Is there a problem here?” he asked threateningly. The girl turned to face the officer.

“Yeah, Marv. These kids are trying to sneak into the VIP lounge.” The officer pursed his lips together as he grabbed Henry’s elbow.

“Okay, kid, let’s go.” Henry continued to protest.

“No, you don’t understand, I’m not trying to sneak in, I just need to get my sister!” The officer ignored him as he started to pull him away. Henry tried to resist, but the officer was a burly man that had a lot of weight on Henry. Desperate to get to Piper, he started yelling her name at the top of his lungs. Before the officer was able to drag him completely away, Piper stuck her head out from behind the door.

“What?!” she seethed. The officer stopped dragging Henry for a moment.

“Piper, thank God. Get out here!” Henry demanded. Piper just furrowed her eyebrows.

“As if. Bye,” she said as she started back into the lounge.

“Piper!” Henry called after her, but she ignored him. Before she could close the door entirely, the girl that had been sitting at the front desk grabbed the door handle from her and pushed it back open.

“Wait, your name is Piper?” she asked. Piper gave her a sheepish grin.

“No?” she replied. The girl just pressed her lips into a thin line as she raised her eyebrows at her.

“The name on the card you gave me said ‘Rachael.’” Piper just forced a fake smile.

“I don’t know who that guy is,” Piper said, gesturing to Henry, “and I have no idea who this Piper girl is. I swear.” The girl at the front desk obviously wasn’t buying it.

“Out,” she demanded, and Piper let out a sigh of defeat as she went to join her brother and his friends. “Wait, I’m gonna need that card back.” Piper rolled her eyes as she took the card out her pocket and slapped it into the girl’s outstretched hand. The girl gave her a stern look before going to take a seat behind the front desk once again. The security guard grabbed Piper and Henry by the hoods on their jackets and started dragging them away again.

“Thanks a lot, Henry,” Piper grumbled. Henry whipped his head around to face her.

“Me?! You’re the one that wandered off by yourself! We’re in a strange place and I’m in charge of you! You can’t just do that!” Henry growled. Piper just rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she snapped back. Henry was almost certain he could’ve strangled her at that moment. The security guard continued to escort them until they were as far away from the VIP lounge as they could possibly get.

“Alright, kids. Please try to stay out of trouble,” he muttered before walking off again. Jasper and Charlotte had been following along behind them, and once the officer was gone, they went to rejoin Henry and Piper. The pair of siblings were currently at each other’s throats. Jasper and Charlotte exchanged an exasperated look.

“Hey!” Charlotte yelled over both of them, but they ignored her. “Hey, guys!” she yelled again, but to no avail. She let out an annoyed sigh before she stuck her index finger and thumb in her mouth and whistled so loud it rung out throughout half the airport. Henry and Piper stopped bickering at once and whirled around to search for the source of the noise.

“ENOUGH!” Charlotte roared. “Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted, and I’d like to just get our hotel reservations and get there so I can crash. Alright?!”

“Alright.”

“Fine.” Charlotte turned back around and started towards the information desk with Jasper by her side and Henry and Piper behind her.

“This is all your fault,” Piper whispered as she shot Henry an angry look.

No, this is  _your_  fault,” he whispered back through gritted teeth. Piper pushed Henry a little and Henry pushed her back before they started all out arguing again. Charlotte swirled around so fast it startled Piper and Henry and they immediately snapped their mouths shut.

“Do  _not_  make me come back there!” she said menacingly, as she pointed to them, a dark expression on her face.  

“Yes, ma’am,” Piper and Henry answered in unison. Charlotte turned back around and started walking again. Jasper swirled around so he was walking backward, and he gave Henry a teasing smile.

“You got in trouble!” he mocked.

“Jasper!” Charlotte snarled, and Jasper’s smile immediately faded as he turned back around.

“Sorry,” he said as he glanced down at his feet. After a second he turned his head to look at Henry again and they both shared an amused grin. The kids eventually reached the information desk and they all let out a collective groan as they caught sight of the scene in front of them. The desk was still chaotic with a swarm of angry passengers crowding around two frazzled airport workers. The line was backed up almost to the middle of the terminal, and the foursome all shared a defeated look before they slowly dragged themselves to the back of the line. Charlotte stood in front of the rest of the group with her back to them, while Jasper turned around to face Piper and Henry. Jasper shoved his hands into his front jacket pockets while Henry shifted his weight to one side and glanced down at the floor.

“So, where did you get that VIP card anyway?” Jasper asked Piper, a quizzical look on his face.

“I swiped it off that rich girl Henry was trying to flirt with earlier,” she replied nonchalantly. Henry slumped his shoulders and threw his head back in frustration as he let out a loud sigh.

“Piper!” he whined.

“ _Piper!_ ” Piper repeated in a mocking tone. Henry wanted to yell at her about how that was wrong, but at that point, he was just too exhausted so he let it go. The line continued to move at a snail’s pace, and the kids were almost certain it was gonna take all night. Finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting, they made it to the front. Charlotte started to ask them about hotel reservations, but the airport worker held up a hand to stop her as he addressed the kids and the final few people behind them.  

“Sorry folks, but the nearest hotel is now all booked up for the night and the roads are closed due to the storm, so it looks like we’re stuck here for the night. Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll be handing out blankets and pillows here shortly.” Charlotte twisted around to face the rest of the group. Henry frowned as he turned his head towards Piper.

“Do you see what you did?!” he bellowed.

“ _Me_?!?!” she shot back.

“Yeah,  _you_! If you hadn’t wandered off we could’ve been here much earlier, and we all could be sitting in a nice, cozy hotel room right now, but  _no_!” Charlotte let out a huff.

“Don’t start this again!” she hissed. Henry and Piper shot each other dirty looks but didn’t say anything further. The group made their way back over to their gate, dragging their feet before they slumped back into the chairs they had been sitting in before. After about twenty minutes, a couple of airport workers came around and handed them and the rest of the stragglers a few old ratty blankets and some pillows. The kids formed a circle on the floor as they all sat down and faced each other. The time was only around 9:30-10 p.m. so none of them were really tired enough to fall asleep yet.

“I’m bored,” Piper announced.

“Tough,” Henry shot back. Piper exhaled sharply as she looked at her brother.

“Can I go look at magazines at the newsstand or am I  _not allowed_?” she asked dramatically. Henry pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I don’t trust you so I’m going with you,” he said as he stood up.

“Fine,” she growled through gritted teeth as she rolled her eyes, before standing up and starting over to the newsstand with her brother in tow. Charlotte and Jasper remained silent for a moment as Jasper looked down at his feet, lost in thought. Finally, Charlotte spoke.  

“Hey, Jasper?”

“Hmmm?” Jasper hummed without looking up. Charlotte took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I’m gonna ask you something, but you don’t have to answer. I know that it’s none of my business,” she started. Jasper looked up at her now, his head cocked to side and his eyebrows knitted together.

“Okayyyy….” he said slowly, “what is it?” There weren’t a lot of secrets the three of them really kept from each other, so Jasper wasn’t really sure where Charlotte could possibly be headed with this. Charlotte remained silent for a moment.

“Do you…have a crush on Henry?” she asked quietly. Jasper’s breath caught in his throat for a second as his frown deepened.

“N-no. Of course not!” he stuttered out. Charlotte had known him long enough to tell he was lying, but she didn’t push the matter. She knew he would tell her if/when he was ready.

“Okay. I don’t even know what made me think that,” she lied. She went back to her business, and the duo remained silent, but Jasper continued to watch her. Finally, he spoke.

“Yes,” he breathed. Charlotte looked up at him again and caught his eye.

“What?”

“Yes. I do have a crush on….” he said as he trailed off, his gaze moving from her to Henry. Charlotte followed his line of sight for a moment before they both turned to look at each other once again. Charlotte mulled over what Jasper had said for a moment while she continued to watch him. Jasper could feel himself getting more anxious by the second, and the uncomfortable silence wasn’t helping matters.

“Please say something,” he pleaded softly. Charlotte snapped out of her thoughts as she turned to face him once again, a small, empathetic smile on her face.

“I’m sorry. At first, I was gonna say I was surprised, but I’m actually not,” she responded. A puzzled expression crossed Jasper’s face.

“You’re not?” he questioned. Charlotte tilted her head slightly.

“No. I mean, I know Henry just as well as you do. He’s nice and he’s sweet…I can understand,” she replied. The corner of Jasper’s lips turned up slightly.

“Do you also?” he inquired. Charlotte shook her head.

“No. I can just understand.” Jasper nodded in response.

“Have you ever thought about telling him?” Charlotte asked. Jasper’s eyes went wide.

“Absolutely not! I could never do that.”

“Why not?” Charlotte inquired. Jasper looked at her like she had three heads.

“Because I’m not about to ruin our friendship like that,” he responded. Charlotte tilted her head to the other side as she brought her eyebrows together.

“Do you really think that would happen? Do you really think Henry would throw away your lifelong friendship because your feelings happened to change?” Jasper pursed his lips a little as he looked down at the ground.

“Well, I suppose not,” he responded finally. “But, what would be the point of telling him? It’s not like he feels the same way.”

“How do you know?” Charlotte pressed. Jasper locked eyes with her again.

“Well, he always tries to flirt with every girl in the tri-state area if that tells you anything.” Charlotte chuckled a little. It was true; Henry was kind of a flirt. But, that was just his personality. Besides, Charlotte knew what Jasper was _really_  trying to imply. However, she knew something he didn’t. It wasn’t like Henry was really trying to keep it from Jasper; he just didn’t get crushes on guys that often and it hadn’t happened in a while so he never really brought it up. Besides that, Charlotte was a little more observant than Jasper was. She couldn’t help but notice how Henry would sit next to Jasper more than anyone else, or how he didn’t mind when Jasper would initiate any type of physical contact.

“What are we talking about?” Piper asked as she came up behind Jasper. Jasper practically jumped out of his skin.

“Global warming!” he exclaimed. Piper’s forehead creased as she sat back down at her spot on the floor.

“Alright, whatever,” she said as she opened up the magazine she had just bought at the newsstand.

“Where’s Henry?” Charlotte inquired.

“Over by the Christmas tree,” Piper answered without looking up. Charlotte and Jasper both stood up to go find Henry. Henry was standing under a small archway by the giant Christmas tree that was covered in Christmas decorations and that had been erected solely for Christmas. He was leaning up against the railing in front of the tree, with his feet crossed in front of him, as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes pressed shut. Jasper approached him a little.

“Hey, Hen, you okay?” he said softly. Henry opened his eyes and looked up at Jasper, a weary smile on his face.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just been a long day, that’s all,” he replied. Jasper just nodded in response and the pair fell silent for a moment. Charlotte started looking around, admiring all the pretty lights and decorations when something caught her eye. A sly smile slowly spread across her lips as she gently pushed Jasper (without Henry noticing) until he was standing right next to Henry. Jasper looked at her and frowned, trying to figure out why she did that, but she just smiled as she winked at him.

“Hey, Henry?” she said. Henry looked up at her.

“Yeah?” She gave him an impish smile while she looked from him to Jasper and back again.

“Look up,” she responded. Henry and Jasper both glanced up at the ceiling to realize that they were standing right underneath the mistletoe. Jasper felt all the heat rise to his cheeks as Henry just rubbed the back of his neck. They stood there in awkward silence for a moment, doing everything to avoid each other’s gaze, before Henry tried to step out from underneath it.

“No, no,” Charlotte said, a huge mischievous grin on her face, “you know the rules.”

Henry met Jasper’s gaze, and Jasper just shrugged as he gave Henry a lopsided smile.

“It’s okay, you don’t have too. Charlotte’s just joking around,” he said sheepishly. Henry just shrugged, seemingly unfazed.

“Why not? I’m alright with it if you are,” he replied. Jasper’s mouth fell open a little as his eyes went wide.

“Oh, uhhhh…yeah. Why not?” he responded. Jasper felt like his heart was gonna beat out of his chest as he placed the quickest peck on Henry’s lips that he possibly could. As soon as he pulled away, Henry furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. Jasper felt his heart sink.

“I’m sorry, you said it was okay,” Jasper said hastily. Henry shook his head.

“No, no, chill. It’s not that. It’s just…can we do that again? But, like, better?” he responded. Jasper looked at him, a little confused over what he meant by “better”, but if it meant kissing Henry again he really wasn’t gonna protest.

“Um…yeah, sure,” he said. Henry watched Jasper for a moment before he put his arms around his neck and pulled him into a soft, gentle kiss. Jasper suddenly felt warm, and happy, and enchanted. He had thought about this moment a million times over in his head, but now, experiencing it was somehow infinitely better than he ever could’ve imagined. When Henry pulled away, Jasper felt a little dizzy and he was sure if he tried to move, his knees would completely give out on him. Henry narrowed his eyes as he kept them locked on Jasper’s, his expression unreadable, and it was killing Jasper not knowing what Henry was thinking.

“Huh,” Henry said finally. Jasper blinked rapidly as he clenched his jaw.

“What does ‘huh’ mean?” he asked, but Henry had gotten distracted by something behind Jasper and he was no longer paying attention. Henry let go of him and started walking away, keeping his eyes fixed on the TV behind Jasper, while Jasper just stood there, dizzy and disoriented. “What does that mean?!” he called after Henry, but Henry was transfixed. He turned to Charlotte with a curious expression on his face.

“What does ‘huh mean?!” he interrogated. Charlotte just went wide-eyed and shrugged. Jasper and Charlotte both turned to catch up with Henry, who was watching the TV screen in front of him, a grave look on his face. Jasper went to stand beside Henry as he kept his gaze on him.

“Henry, what does ‘huh’ mean?” he repeated, but Henry ignored him. “Henry-” he started, but Henry turned to face him as he took both of his hands in his and cut him off.

“Jasper, just hang on a second!” he said as he pointed his neck towards the TV. Jasper made a mental note that Henry was still gripping on to both of his hands before he turned his attention to see that someone had turned it to the local Swellview news station, where the headline read “ _Where is Captain Man?_ ”

“ _We have breaking news_ ,” the news anchor, Trent Overunder, began, “ _A robbery took place in the downtown Swellview store, Mouth Candy, approximately one hour ago. Two masked men held the place up at gunpoint and were able to make off with at least $1,000 in cash. Evelyn Hall is on the scene with more information. Evelyn?”_ The TV screen then switched to show a brunette reporter standing in front of the storefront of Mouth Candy, which was currently surrounded by police cars and yellow tape.

“Y _es, thank you, Trent. I’m here with Police Chief Edwards,_ ” Evelyn began as the camera panned out to show an older gentleman in a police uniform with grey hair and a grey mustache standing beside her. “ _Chief Edwards, can you give us a little bit more information about what happened here tonight?_ ” Chief Edwards looked at the camera for a moment, before looking back at Evelyn as he cleared his throat.

“ _Yes, well, approximately one hour ago two masked men came into that store and held it up at gunpoint. By the time we arrived on the scene the men had already made off with the cash. To be honest, we were sure Captain and Kid Danger were gonna take care of this, so we kinda took our time getting here. But, they never showed up,_ ” the police chief said timidly.

“ _Thank you, Chief,_ ” Evelyn said as she turned her attention back to the camera. “ _That brings us to the question on everyone’s mind: Where is Captain Man?_ ”

“And Kid Danger?” Henry said as he watched the TV screen. He let out a loud sigh as he threw his hands up. “Great, now Ray’s missing. Just when I thought this night couldn’t get any worse.”

“I told you not to ask,” Jasper mumbled. Henry shot him an agitated look. “Does anyone have any quarters? I’m gonna go try to call Ray and see what’s up.” Charlotte pulled a couple of quarters out her pocket and handed them to him. Henry thanked her as he turned to walk back towards the payphone.

“Henry, wait!” Jasper called out, and Henry slowly turned back around. “What does ‘huh’ mean?” Henry took a deep breath before he walked back over to Jasper and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“Jasper, I do not have the time to explain to you right now what that meant, but I promise that I will, okay?” he said. Jasper just nodded.

“Okay,” he replied. Before Henry let go of Jasper, he looked around them for a second and frowned.

“Guys,” he said as he slowly shut his eyes. “Where’s Piper?” Jasper and Charlotte both looked around them, only to realize that Piper had disappeared again. Just then, an airport cart went speeding past them, with a small blonde girl that looked an awful lot like Piper at the wheel. Following closely after was a group of angry security guards. Henry squeezed his eyes shut for a second as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He opened his eyes, still gripping on to Jasper’s shoulders, as he locked eyes with Jasper.

“Please tell me that wasn’t my sister,” he pleaded softly. Jasper grimaced.

“I could tell you that,” he replied, “but I’d be lying.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe I actually finished something?! Here’s the third and final chapter of my seasonal short story! I’m not really satisfied with this chapter. I kinda went through all the action in the first two chapters so this one feels kinda boring and anti-climatic. I hope you guys still enjoy it a little bit anyway. Let me know what you think of this one, good or bad! I live for that sweet validation.

 Henry slumped his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh as he let go of Jasper, keeping his eyes pressed shut.

“You know what? I don’t even have time for that,” he said as he opened his eyes. “Can you just?” he pleaded to Jasper, gesturing towards the direction Piper sped off in.

“We’re on it, chief,” Jasper responded as he signaled for Charlotte to follow him, and they started off towards where Piper had disappeared to. Henry sighed heavily as he dragged himself over to the payphone. He put the quarters in and punched in Ray’s number. It rang a few times before Ray finally answered.

“ _Hello?_ ”

“Ray, where the hell are you?!” Henry barked. He could hear Ray crunching on something into the receiver. “And what are you doing?!”

“ _Eating chips,_ ” Ray responded nonchalantly. Henry exhaled sharply.

“Ray, there was a robbery at Mouth Candy about an hour ago. They held the place up at gunpoint and made off with the money. The police still haven’t found them. Why didn’t you try to stop it?”

“ _Oh, Schwoz!_ ” Ray exclaimed angrily. Henry furrowed his eyebrows as he frowned. “ _He was supposed to take care of this,_ ” Ray mumbled.

“What does Schwoz have to do with this?”

“ _Yeah, uhh….I was in the shower and I didn’t hear the alarm._ ”

“Okay, so, why don’t you go get them now-” Henry started, but Ray cut him off.

“ _Listen, Henry, I gotta go._ ” Henry heard the dial tone as Ray hung up and Henry slowly put the phone back on the receiver as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked up to see Jasper and Charlotte jogging towards him and he couldn’t help but notice that Piper wasn’t with them.

“Sorry, Henry. We couldn’t find Piper,” Charlotte said when they reached him. Henry pursed his lips as she shut his eyes.

“I am so done,” he mumbled to himself. Just then, they heard a voice come over the loudspeaker:

“ _Can Piper Hart’s brother, Henry, please report to the information desk? And bring your stuff. Thank you._ ”  

Henry rolled his eyes as he, Charlotte, and Jasper exchanged looks.

“Well, come on. We better go see what that is about,” Charlotte said as started towards the gate to gather up their things. Henry just shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” Henry replied. Charlotte stopped dead in her tracks as she turned to face Henry.

“Excuse me?”

“Listen, nobody but you guys know that I’m Piper’s brother. Judging by that announcement, the security guards probably caught her, so she’s safe. At least this way we could get some peace,” Henry responded. Charlotte just looked at Henry.

“Henry,” she said as she pressed her lips into a thin line and raised one eyebrow. Henry began to rock back and forth on his heels.

“What?” he answered innocently.

“Henry,” Charlotte said a little more forcefully as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her eyes boring into him. Henry continued to watch her for a minute before he let out a sigh of defeat.

“Fine,” he snapped as he started towards the gate to get his things, followed by Charlotte and Jasper. Once they reached the information desk they saw a stout security officer standing next to it, watching them as they approached.

“Are you Piper Hart’s brother?” he asked Henry. Henry took a deep breath as he watched the security guard for a moment.

“Nope. Never heard of her before,” Henry answered.

“Henry!” Charlotte exclaimed as she hit his arm. Henry let out a sharp breath.

“Yes,” he replied with a defeated tone. The security guard raised his eyebrows, an annoyed expression on his face.

“Follow me,” he stated. They followed the security guard into a back room on the far side of the airport. It was dark and dingy, the walls and floor made entirely of concrete and brick, with one measly light bulb in the middle of the room. The room was chaotic, with a bunch of kids running around and screaming.

“Welcome the unaccompanied minors room,” the security guard said as he pushed them inside and closed the door behind them.

“Great,” Henry deadpanned, “does anyone see Piper?” Charlotte and Jasper both began to scan the room.

“There!” Jasper said as he pointed to a corner on the far end of the room. Sitting at a round table surrounded by a group of preteen boys was Piper, with a candy cane tucked in behind her ear and a considerable pile of candy in front of her. She was holding a few cards in her hand with a cunning expression on her face. Henry, Jasper, and Charlotte made their way over to her.

“Piper, what are you doing?” Henry asked when he reached her. Piper scoffed as she looked up at her brother.

“What does it look like?” she retorted, “We’re in the middle of a poker game. And I’m winning.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” a curly-haired brunette at the table said as he placed his hand down in front of him. “Read it and weep boys. And girl. A straight flush,” he announced with a smug look on his face. He started to reach for the pot in the middle when Piper held up a hand to stop him.

“Not so fast,” she said as she placed her cards down on the table, face up. “I present to you, a royal flush.” The other players let out a collective groan and a couple threw their cards down on the table. Piper started beaming as she grabbed the candy in the middle and started adding it to her ever-growing pile. Henry just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. At least this way you’ll stay out of trouble,” he declared.

“Deal me in,” Charlotte said as she sat down at an empty seat next to Piper.

“Charlotte!” Henry blurted out as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“What?! We’ve got nothing better to do,” Charlotte said as she picked up the hand that was dealt in front of her. Henry just sighed as he and Jasper found a spot on the floor a few feet away from Piper’s table where they decided to set up camp for the night. Henry sat down with his back leaning against the wall while Jasper sat down beside him. The duo remained silent for a while as Henry enjoyed being able to relax for the first time that night. He closed his eyes as she leaned his head back on the wall behind him. Unbeknownst to Henry, the silence made Jasper a little anxious and he started fiddling with the zipper on his jacket.  

“Hey, Henry?” Jasper said finally. Henry opened his eyes and turned to look at Jasper, a concerned expression on his face as he could hear the slight apprehension in Jasper’s voice.

“Yeah?” he replied. Jasper took a deep breath as he looked down at the floor.

“What does ‘huh’ mean?” Henry chuckled a little to himself as he looked straight ahead.

“Sorry, Jasper. I forgot about that. I’m not really sure how to explain it, though…” he started.

“Please try,” Jasper said, his eyes pleading. Henry just smiled.

“I don’t know...I guess I just didn’t expect the kiss to be...nice.”

“Wow, thanks,” Jasper responded sarcastically. Henry chuckled as he turned his body a little towards Jasper.

“No, no! I don’t mean it like that! I mean, I guess...since we’re best friends...I kinda expected it to feel like I was kissing a best friend. Like, I didn’t expect to really feel anything.”

“You felt something?” Jasper asked excitedly. Henry’s eyes went wide.

“Not if you didn’t,” he responded quickly. Piper and Charlotte had been listening subtly to the conversation and they both exchanged a look as they rolled their eyes.

“Huh,” Jasper replied.

“Okay, I see how sucky that feels,” Henry said and he and Jasper exchanged an amused smile. The pair remained in awkward silence for a moment. Jasper caught Charlotte’s gaze and Charlotte mouthed “tell him!” but Jasper just shook his head furiously. Charlotte kept adamantly nodding her head yes until Jasper finally gave in. He took a deep breath as he shut his eyes.

“I did,” he blurted out as he opened his eyes. Henry frowned as his eyes met Jasper’s.

“You did what?”

“Feel something,” Jasper answered softly. Henry’s forehead creased as he looked down at the ground.

“Huh,” he replied.

“Okay, we have to stop doing that,” Jasper declared. Henry chuckled.

“Sorry.”

Silence.

“So...you felt something and I felt something….what does that mean?” Henry asked finally. Piper slammed her head down on the table while Charlotte let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes.

“It means you like each other!” she exclaimed. Jasper and Henry exchanged glances.

“Does it?” Henry asked. Jasper shrugged.

“I don’t know. Does it?”

“YES!” all of the players at the table responded simultaneously. Jasper could feel all the heat rising to his cheeks as he and Henry avoided each other’s gaze.

“So, what now?” Jasper asked awkwardly as he slowly looked up at Henry. He could see that Henry was blushing just as wildly as he was.

“I don’t really know,” Henry answered slowly, and at that point, every player at the poker table turned to look at them with the same incredulous look on each of their faces.

“Just kiss him!” a dark-skinned boy in a flannel shirt that was sitting closest to Jasper said.

“Which one of us are you talking too?” Jasper asked and the boy threw his hands up in the air as he rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter!” he proclaimed. Jasper’s eyes went wide as he looked at Henry. He was sure he wouldn’t be lucky enough to get to kiss Henry three times in the same day. Henry was smiling at him and Jasper felt his heart skip a beat.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want too,” he stuttered out nervously. Henry’s face fell.

“You don’t want too?”

The boy in the flannel turned to look at Piper while he pursed his lips together.

“This is honestly the most painful thing I’ve ever witnessed,” he said.

“Try living with them,” she responded.

“Of course he wants to kiss you, you idiot! He’s obviously got a massive crush on you!” another boy at the table exclaimed. Henry smiled at Jasper as Jasper started to blush. Henry placed his hand on Jasper’s cheek as he slowly started to lean in.

“Finally,” another boy at the table said while they all watched in anticipation. Right when Henry was just centimeters from Jasper’s face, the doors slammed open.

“Henry Hart?” a security officer called out. Henry stopped and let out a heavy sigh as he let go of Jasper and held up his hand. The entire table of poker players let out a disappointed groan as they returned to their game. The security officer made her way over to Henry.

“Do you know a man by the name of Ray Manchester?” she asked as she read off the name from a post-it note in her hand. Henry frowned as he looked up at her.

“Yeah, that’s my boss. Why?”

“He’s here to get you,” she deadpanned. Henry shot up.

“Are you serious?” he asked excitedly. The security officer was clearly unenthused.

“Yep. Gather your stuff up,” she said as she started back towards the door. Jasper, Charlotte, and Piper quickly collected their stuff and started for the door.

“Hey, Piper!” one of the boys called out. Piper turned to face him. “Text me and let us know how it ends with those two, will you?” he said as he gestured towards Jasper and Henry. Piper just winked as she went to rejoin her brother and his two friends. The security officer led them outside where they saw Ray standing in front of a huge, snow-covered SUV.

“What are you doing here?” Henry asked with a huge smile on his face. Ray just grinned. Charlotte, Piper, and Jasper started piling into the vehicle, with Piper calling shotgun.

“Eh. You sounded desperate on the phone so I’d thought come to surprise you,” Ray answered. “C’mon, kid. Let’s go home,” Ray said as he started back towards the driver’s side. Jasper peaked his head out of the back door as he looked at Henry.

“Hey, Hen, you coming? I saved you a seat,” he said. Henry smiled as he climbed in beside Jasper. He could tell that Jasper was still a little unclear about how to act with Henry now, so Henry took the initiative and grabbed Jasper’s hand. Jasper started to blush as he looked down at their intertwined hands before he met Henry’s gaze and smiled. He leaned against Henry’s shoulder as Ray started the long journey back home.


End file.
